As the fertile summer-concert season fades into the shadows of downtown clubs and arenas, we thought it only right to look back on 2014’s festival lineup, given that it was one of the most crowded and controversial Colorado has seen.

Many festivals improved upon previous showings; others stirred the ire of their planned staging grounds.

Byers residents voted out the punk-leaning Riot Fest, which finished up earlier this week at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. City Park area residents raised objections to the brand-new Chive Fest, which shut down part of the public park and charged up to $70 for tickets. In the wake of Winter Park kicking out the Snowball Festival last year, it felt like a quorum on community tolerance, art and commerce.

Were they all warranted and worth the price? What was it like to be on the ground? Read on for a representative (but by no means comprehensive) wrap-up of the 2014 summer festival season.

Did it work? Yes. As the legacy event that it is, TBF stayed true to form, sold out immediately and appealed to festivarians who have made the trek to the San Juan Mountains for decades. What this year was missing, though, was a major draw for younger fans, like Mumford & Sons, who have landed on the lineup in the past.

Westword Music Showcase

Location: Golden Triangle neighborhood (June 21)

Target market: Local music fans, party kids

Price: $40-$50

Headliners: Diplo & 2 Chainz, Cherub, Man Man

Did it work? Yes. Westword’s one-day showcase of 100-plus local bands and dance-friendly national headliners always seems to run smoothly, despite the inevitable lines and boozy crowds (this year attracted 11,000, according to Westword). While the neighborhood lacks the cohesive character of RiNo or South Broadway, the proximity of venues and sheer number of acts is a pleasantly overwhelming wave, and a great value for the price.

Did it work? It’s getting there. For the past two years, the Ride Festival has brought a considerable helping of indie-rock acts to Telluride. In a festival scene that focuses on folk and classic rock, it’s built a unique niche in that mountain town. With some better marketing and a bit more bang for fans’ bucks, the Ride Fest will almost certainly warrant the six-hour drive from Denver.

Did it work? Yes. RockyGrass was the 2014 Colorado festival season success story. After its home of Planet Bluegrass Ranch was destroyed by the 2013 floods, festival organizers were able to rebuild in time for the event nine months later. Despite the tribulations, it drew a strong lineup of iconic and young bluegrass acts to its beautiful and improved festival grounds.

The UMS

Location: South Broadway (July 24-27)

Target market: Local music fans, hipster fashion victims

Price: $35-$75

Headliners: Real Estate, Blonde Redhead, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Did it work? Yes. As Denver’s answer to the massive Austin, Texas, party known as South by Southwest, the boutiques and bars along South Broadway come alive like no other time of the year with 18,000 cumulative attendees, according to director Kendall Smith. The value for the 14th annual Underground Music Showcase was considerable, as more than 400 acts entertained thousands for the price of a single headliner at some concerts. Better booking and a smoother layout also helped make this Denver Post Community Foundation event the slickest yet.

Arise Music Festival

Location: Sunrise Ranch in Loveland (Aug. 8-10)

Target market: Boulderites, stoners, Burning Man refugees

Price: $84-$185

Headliners: Galactic, Beats Antique, Groundation, Grateful Grass

Did it work? Yes. In its second year, Arise’s idealistic programming — which included poetry, art and activism alongside jam bands, adventurous EDM and world music — drew a modest crowd of 5,000 and further distinguished itself from a host of purely profit-driven (if good-natured) camping ‘n’ community festivals with holistic bents.

Did it work? No. With a baffling lineup and an identity that goes no further than that of a marketing vessel for The Chive mobile app, the first Chive Fest has some work to do to improve on the 5,000 people it brought out this year. The first thing to change: a $70 ticket price for only eight bands.

Did it work? Yes. JAS Aspen Snowmass knows exactly what it is, and that’s a giant party for middle-aged music fans and socialites with money to burn. That’s not to say that it excludes anyone, just that very few people trek up to Snowmass to see OneRepublic for (a minimum of) $75 unless it’s their favorite band — and only option.

Riot Fest Denver

Location: Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Sept. 19-21)

Target market: Punks with day jobs, punks who raided their parents’ record collection

Price: $79-$279

Headliners: Weezer, the Cure, the National, the Flaming Lips

Did it work? Given the situation, yes. What a summer of drama for Riot Fest. Three months before its scheduled date, Riot Fest was denied permits to its home of May Farms in Byers and had to move the event to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Minus the grass, minus the space and minus the camping, Riot Fest still pulled off a well organized event and used its new space wisely. As was the case in 2013, the festival brought a varied list of nostalgia acts that had uber fans crying with joy at nearly every set, even if sound was hit or miss.

John Wenzel is a member of the Now Team, having covered comedy, music, film, books and video games for The Denver Post for more than a decade. As a proud Dayton, Ohio native, his love of Guided by Voices is about equal to his other obsessions, including Peter Jackson's Middle-earth, "Mr. Show" quotes and Onitsuka Tigers.